Family members say Vera, who was known to law enforcement, lost his way after the death of his mother.

Submitted photoRaul Vera and his sister, Virginia Saez, in a photo taken last Thanksgiving.

SPRINGFIELD – The sisters of Raul E. Vera, who was fatally shot on the night of July 3, say he was a kind-hearted man who lost his way following the death of their mother 10 years ago.

“Our brother had a heart of gold,” Celines Saez, 41, said of her little brother. “He would give you the shirt off his back without thinking. If he had a dollar, you would have 50 cents of it.”

Vera, nicknamed Baby by friends and family, was known for his sense of humor, his talent as a singer and his sensitivity to those in need, his sisters say.

But the 38-year-old Vera had a darker side. Sgt. John M. Delaney said Vera had a lengthy record with the department that included drug charges, had gang ties and was released from prison three months ago. Vera was last arrested on May 14 for breaking and entering.

Vera, shot once in the neck in the area of 66 Lincoln St., marked the city’s 9th homicide of the year. He was the father of four adult children “They are beyond devastated,” Virginia Saez, Vera’s 42-year-old sister, said.

Since then, two other Springfield residents, 16-year-old Tyrel Wheeler and 18-year-old James Rosario Jr., have lost their lives to gun violence. Arrests in the three slayings have yet to be made.

Delaney said the department treats all homicides seriously, regardless of the victim’s past. “We don’t want any death and any death is treated the same, no matter who the victim is,” he said.

Vera’s sisters acknowledge their brother’ darker side and said it was fueled by the death of their mother, Ada Marie Vera, a strong woman and longtime activist within the Latino community.

The Republican | Greg Saulmon07.11.2011 | SPRINGFIELD – From left to right, sisters Celines Saez, Virginia Saez and Charity Vera sit with a photo of their brother, Raul E. Vera. Raul was killed in a July 3 shooting on Lincoln Street in Springfield.

“He couldn’t recover from the loss of our mother, she was his guide” 29-year-old Charity Vera said. “He really went downhill after that.”

“I remember him telling me that he had nothing left to live for,” Virginia Saez said.

The sisters declined to elaborate on the troubled part of their brother’s life, but each said that it shouldn’t define him. “It’s not who he was, but it’s a part of his story,” Celines Saez said.

The three women say they believe police are quick to apply the label of gang member to crime victims like their brother, and that such a label can obscure the full measure of the life that was lost.

“These people are real, there was a life there,” said Virginia Saez.

Funeral services for Vera will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at Third Baptist Church, 149 Walnut St.

Employees working for the department before the new ordinance took effect and who live outside the city are considered in compliance.

Holyoke City Councilor Kevin Jourdain

HOLYOKE – An ordinance established last month requires that new employees of the Fire Department be residents of the city.

The City Council’s June 21 adoption of the ordinance updates a residency rule that had gone unenforced for decades.

But it appears the new ordinance won’t settle a debate that has lasted for years about where firefighters and other department employees must live. The firefighters union said it will fight the rule because it violates its contract with the city.

Nevertheless, Councilor Kevin A. Jourdain said Monday, taxpayers and the city in general will benefit from the new residency rule for Fire Department employees.

“Tax dollars will stay here. People whose salaries we’re going to be paying are going to live in Holyoke,” Jourdain said.

“Further, I maintain the more people who live in the city and work in the city have a stronger connection to the city,” he said.

The ordinance requires that all new employees hired after the ordinance takes effect live in Holyoke for their careers, he said.

Department personnel employed before the ordinance took effect were granted compliance status, or “grandfathered,” even if they face a subsequent break in service such as a layoff, he said.

If someone’s spouse has a residency requirement in another city, that individual would be exempt from the new ordinance, he said.

The Fire Commission, a three-member board appointed by the mayor, is responsible for enforcing the residency ordinance. Violators could be fired, he said.

The city actually had an ordinance that was supposed to require that all Fire Department employees live here, but it stopped being enforced nearly 30 years ago, he said.

The union’s position is non-city residency allowed in the collective bargaining agreement supercedes the ordinance, said firefighter Timothy J. Leary, president of Holyoke Fire Fighters Association, Local 1693, International Association of Fire Fighters.

The contract lets employees live outside the city provided they can respond without great delay from their homes to an emergency here, he said. The union has 126 members.

“The union’s position is we will hold the city to its contractual obligation,” Leary said.

The council approved the residency ordinance 9-6.

Voting yes were councilors Brenna E. Murphy, Rebecca Lisi, James M. Leahy, Aaron M. Vega, Diosdado Lopez, Timothy W. Purington, Linda L. Vacon, Todd A. McGee and Jourdain.

Voting no were councilors Joseph M. McGiverin, Patricia C. Devine, Peter R. Tallman, Donald R. Welch, Anthony M. Keane and John J. O’Neill.

Signs remind visitors that the compound is private, hidden largely away by fences, driveways and the green sea of Nantucket Sound.

FILE - This Aug. 27, 2009 file photo shows the main home in the Kennedy family compound in Hyannis Port, Mass. While it has been mostly unused since Sen. Edward Kennedy died two years ago, the Kennedys will gather there Friday, July 15, 2011 for the wedding of former Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy. The senator’s will said he wanted the property turned over to the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, which has caused a division among family members over its fate. (AP Photo/Stew Milne, File)

HYANNIS PORT, Mass. (AP) — For the Kennedys, the family compound has long been a place to relax, to celebrate and to grieve.

Members of America's most glamorous political dynasty played touch football on the lawn, walked the beach and sailed the sound. The cluster of white-clapboard homes on Cape Cod served as the summer White House when Jack was president. It was there that the family retreated after his assassination. And it was there that Caroline held her wedding reception and Ted spent his final days.

Now, as the Kennedys gather for another wedding there, the family is divided over the future of the compound.

On Friday, Patrick Kennedy, a former eight-term congressman from Rhode Island and the son of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, will marry New Jersey schoolteacher Amy Petitgout in a small, private ceremony presided over by Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. At the same time, the Kennedys are split over what is to become of this Camelot-by-the sea.

Sen. Edward Kennedy's widow, Vicki Kennedy, and his three children plan to transfer the main house at the compound to the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, perhaps for use as a scholarly retreat or a museum.

Some Kennedys have raised concerns about those plans, according to a family associate who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly. They are worried about protecting the privacy of family members who will continue to live on the grounds, maintaining the overall character of the compound and ensuring access to the beachfront property, the family associate said.

Family members are discussing the concerns in hopes of resolving the issue before the property changes hands, the family associate said.

A call to Vicki Kennedy's home in Washington was immediately returned Thursday. Patrick Kennedy declined to comment.

Whatever becomes of it, the compound remains a link to the Kennedy legacy.

Here is where John F. Kennedy learned to sail and played football with his brothers. Just down the road is where he delivered his first speech after winning the White House. It was here, 12 years ago next week, that the Kennedy clan retreated to mourn the death of John F. Kennedy Jr. in a plane crash. And it is here where Edward Kennedy succumbed to brain cancer in 2009.

"This was their getaway," said Jessica Sylver, chief executive at the Hyannis Area Chamber of Commerce, which operates the John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum. "This was where the family came to be together, to escape."

Just as the Kennedys made a mark on America, the Cape made its mark on them.

"I always come back to the Cape and walk on the beach when I have a tough decision to make," JFK once said. "The Cape is the one place I can think, and be alone."

The homes that make up the Kennedy compound are not open to the public. According to the National Park Service, the main house contains nearly two-dozen rooms, including seven bedrooms for residents and guests and four rooms for servants. The basement holds a movie theater and sauna. The grounds feature an enclosed pool, a tennis court and a four-car garage.

The Kennedys' presence here began in 1926 when Joseph Kennedy Sr. and his wife, Rose, rented a summer cottage with sweeping ocean views. A few years later, the Kennedy patriarch purchased the property and expanded it to suit his growing family. Twenty years after that, JFK and his brother Robert expanded the family footprint when they bought homes nearby. Edward Kennedy made the main house his home for decades.

Ethel Kennedy, Robert's widow, still keeps a house next to the main residence.

The dense collection of white clapboard houses blends seamlessly into the wealthy neighborhood.

Signs remind visitors that the compound is private, hidden largely away by fences, driveways and the green sea of Nantucket Sound. Still, sightseers try their best to spy a glimpse.

"I've heard about it all my life," said Sarah Buck of Mechanicsville, Va., who stopped by the compound Thursday with three friends. Buck, 29, was on the Cape for a friends' wedding and wanted to see what she could of the Kennedy home. "They're an American institution."

The best views of the compound are from the sea. And Hyannis Port boat operators are happy to oblige.

"We used to carry 1,500 people a day or more in 60s and '70s," said Murray Scudder, whose father helped found a tour boat business after JFK was elected president. "Now it's a couple of hundred. It doesn't have the cachet it once did."

Still, to the many Americans who lived through the Kennedy era, the compound and Hyannis are a place where ghosts whisper in the salt spray.

Photos in the Hyannis museum show Kennedy arriving in a Marine helicopter; welcoming the Canadian prime minister to his family's home; being interviewed on the manicured lawn by Walter Cronkite; learning that his brother Ted had won a Senate seat; sailing with Jackie just after their marriage; playing with John Jr.

"It's still emotional to me," said Marcia Diamant, visiting Hyannis from New York. Standing outside the Kennedy museum, she fought back tears as she remembered JFK's 1963 assassination. "I was in high school. I was on a bus, and they announced it. No one could believe it. It's something I'll never forget."

The state will create a Fair Housing Review Panel in Springfield in the aftermath of the June 1 tornado.

The Republican | Mark M. MurrayRaymond A. Jordan, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Regional liaison for Community and Faith-based organizations, left, John Trasvina, assistant secretary for fair housing and equal opportunity for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Marcella Brown, from the Region One office for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, walk down Clark Street in Springfield on Thursday as they toured areas hit by the June 1st tornado prior to a meeting at Springfield City Hall.

SPRINGFIELD – State and federal officials, following a new tour of tornado damage in Springfield on Thursday, pledged to serve as a “watchdog” over all rebuilding efforts to protect fair housing, to promote jobs and equal opportunities, and to listen to the community.

The tour and follow-up meeting at City Hall included John Trasvina, assistant secretary for fair housing and equal opportunity for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and representatives of the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination and other agencies.

MCAD Chairman Julian T. Tynes said that a Fair Housing Review Panel will be established in Springfield, with community representatives, serving to prevent and address housing discrimination. The panel will be chaired by MCAD Commissioner Jamie R. Williamson, a Springfield resident living in the tornado path area.

The tornado on June 1 caused a six-mile path of destruction through Springfield stretching from the South End through Sixteen Acres.

Trasvina and various state and federal officials met with regional housing and community development advocates and agencies.

“This is a tremendous opportunity to reshape neighborhoods and really empower people,” Trasvina said. “Now is the opportunity to get it right.”

The Fair Housing Act is a federal law that prohibits discrimination in housing and housing-related services based on factors such as a person’s race, color, familial status or disability.

Agencies working together must ensure that tornado victims have equal and fair access to rent housing, buy homes, obtain credit and services, and to obtain fair appraisals, officials said.

Charles H. Rucks, executive director of Springfield Neighborhood Housing Services Inc., said the disaster was “even-handed,” striking neighborhoods regardless of race, creed and income. Rebuilding efforts, however, thus far do not appear even-handed, as some of the outlying areas are seeing much more construction than the inner-city areas, Rucks said.

Tynes said he also saw the difference, and believes it is of concern and will be addressed by the panel.

Tynes said it is better to have a panel working to prevent housing discrimination rather than having 150 to 200 people filing complaints.

David Hoose pointed out that the charges came during the administration of former DA Elizabeth Scheibel, with whom he has locked horns in several high profile cases.

The Republican | Dave RobackGlenn Cooke listens to arguments during a hearing in his rape case in Hampshire Superior Court on Thursday.

NORTHAMPTON – A judge asked the prosecution probing questions Thursday during a hearing to determine whether rape charges will stand against former Hopkins Academy coach Glenn Cooke.

Cooke, 46, of Hadley, coached the girls basketball team at the school for approximately 20 years and served as the girls softball coach as well. He is facing four counts of rape involving a girl on the softball team in 2002 and 2003. As terms of his release prior to trial, Cooke cannot coach and must stay away from the alleged victim and her family.

In arguing his motion to dismiss the charges, defense lawyer David P. Hoose told Judge Peter A. Velis that the grand jury heard only selective evidence before it issued the indictments last year.

“The grand jury was sold a bill of goods,” Hoose said. “It did not have the complete picture.”

Hoose said there is no evidence that the girl, who was 25 when she testified before the grand jury, ever used the word “rape” when talking about her interaction with Cooke during the intervening years. She was 17 at the time of the alleged rape.

“She calls a former teacher and talks about having sex with an older man,” he said. “She never once says it was forced or unwanted in any way.”

During the first incident, Hoose said, the girl left a June 2002 party with Cooke and had sex in a cornfield. The second time was later that summer at Cooke’s house. According to Hoose, the girl told friends she was afraid Cooke would retaliate against her as a player on the team.

“She loved softball,” he said. “It was her life.”

In January 2010, prior to going to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office with her complaint, the alleged victim sent Cooke a letter telling him if he did not quit his job as coach within 10 days she would say she was induced to have sex with him, according to Hoose.

“Frankly, your honor, it’s an extortion letter,” Hoose told Velis.

Noting the letter was drafted with help from the woman’s brother, Hoose said it referenced a law – inducing a person under the age of 18 to have sex – that is seldom used by prosecutors.

“The first time she claimed rape by force was after the first time she met with the DA’s office,” he said. “Something happened in which this became forcible rape.”

Hoose was careful to point out that the charges came during the administration of former Northwestern District Attorney Elizabeth D. Scheibel, with whom he has locked horns in several high profile cases. In the case involving University of Massachusetts student Jason Vassell, a black man charged with stabbing two white men on campus, Hoose accused Scheibel’s office of meting out justice along racial lines.

Scheibel did not run for re-election last year and has been replaced by David E. Sullivan.

Assistant District Attorney Carrie Russell told Velis that the girl did testify she tried to resist Cooke, particularly on one occasion in the girls locker room when he allegedly forced her to have oral sex.

“She said, ‘It was the most disgusting thing I ever had to do in my life,’ ” Russell said.

Russell acknowledged, however, that the grand jury was not shown the woman’s reference to the archaic inducement law in her letter to Cooke or the fact that she cited only one of the four alleged rapes. Velis pressed her on those points, saying they could be construed as crucial omissions.

“Why weren’t (the other rapes) in the letter?” he asked. “Why wasn’t the word ‘rape’ in the letter?”

Velis took the matter under advisement. The trial is tentatively scheduled for November.

The Republican | Dave RobackFormer Hopkins Academy coach Glenn Cooke listens in Hampshire Superior Court during a hearing on dismissing rape charges against him. At right is his lawyer, David Hoose.

Bernanke told lawmakers the Fed expects the economy to improve.

File photo | Associated PressFederal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke listens to a question during a speech to a meeting of the International Monetary Committee in Atlanta.

By FRANCESCA LEVY
AP Business Writer

NEW YORK — Remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that dimmed hopes for a third round of bond-buying pushed stocks lower Thursday.

In a second day of testimony, Bernanke told lawmakers the Fed expects the economy to improve. He said the central bank would only step in with more economic stimulus if there is a significant downturn in the economy.

"We're not prepared at this point to take further action," Bernanke said.

Stocks turned immediately lower after the remarks and fell for much of the day.

Bernanke was clarifying statements he made Wednesday that left the door open to new economic stimulus measures. Investors took his earlier remarks to mean that the Fed chairman had all but guaranteed new action to stimulate the economy, said Jeff Cleveland, senior economist at money manager Payden & Rygel.

"They realize that's not the case now," Cleveland said.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 8.85 points, or 0.7 percent, to close at 1,308.87. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 54.49, or 0.4 percent, to 12,437.12. The Nasdaq composite fell 34.25, or 1.2 percent, to 2,762.67.

It was the fourth day of losses on the stock market out of the last five. Worries that Italy could be the next European country to get caught up in the region's debt problems have kept investors on edge this week.

Google Inc. rose 12 percent in after-hours trading after the company reported earnings that soared past analyst expectations. The results calmed investors who were concerned that a leadership shake-up would hurt the company.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. rose 1.8 percent after the bank reported that higher investment banking fees raised its net income above analysts' expectations.

ConocoPhillips rose 1.6 percent after the country's third-largest oil company said it would split in two. One company will be an oil producer, and the other a refinery. Investors preferred two simple businesses to one complicated one.

Stocks started higher after applications for unemployment benefits fell to a three-month low last week, a sign that companies are laying off fewer workers. At 405,000, the figure is still above the 375,000 that signals healthy job growth.

In a separate report, the government also said an increase in car sales and a drop in gas prices pushed up retail sales slightly in June.

Stocks were also held back by a stalemate in Washington over raising the country's borrowing limit. Late Wednesday Moody's threatened to lower the U.S. credit rating below the highest grade of triple-A, citing the risk that the government might fail to make its debt payments if an agreement isn't reached by an Aug. 2 deadline.

In Europe, a threat resurfaced that Italy's government could lose control of the country's debt crisis. Yields on Italy's debt jumped to their highest level since the introduction of the euro following a bond sale. A debt default for an economy as large as Italy's would hurt lending across the globe.

Marriott International Inc. fell 6.6 percent after the hotel chain said it would earn less in the full year than previously expected.

YUM Brands Inc. rose 1.4 percent after the owner of the Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC fast-food chains said its earnings rose on strong international sales.

About four stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was light at 3.8 billion.

AP Economics Writer Martin Crutsinger contributed to this story.

Massachusetts' leading judges have announced plans to close 11 courts, including Westfield District Court, and consolidate their operations into other nearby courts.

File photo | The RepublicanWestfield District Court Judge Philip Contant

BOSTON – At Westfield District Court, the presiding judge says he and other employees work hard to create a culture where people are treated exceptionally well and operations are efficient.

Of the state's 62 district courts outside Boston, the Westfield court generally ranks about No. 39 in the number of criminal complaints, Judge Philip A. Contant said. But the court is among the top 10 in the state in the amount of fees it collects from certain witnesses, and close to the middle in collecting probation fees, he said. Because of its proximity to the Massachusetts Turnpike, the court generally finishes about No. 15 in hearings on infractions for civil motor vehicle tickets.

The court, located in the city's downtown, serves Westfield State University and nine different cities and towns, including Agawam and Westfield and several remote rural communities with small, part-time police departments, the judge said.

Contant said the court is being targeted for closure for one major reason:

"It all comes down to the lease," Contant said. "It's a big lease number."

The state's leading judges, citing a deep budget gap for the Trial Courts, on Tuesday announced plans to close 11 courts across the state, including Westfield District Court, and consolidate their operations into other nearby courts. The closure dates are unclear, but court leaders are preparing documents to provide legislators with the legally required minimum 90 days notice.

The state pays $710,500 a year in rent for Westfield District Court on a lease that expires on Dec. 31. The leases on some other nearby rented courts include $268,875 a year for Holyoke Juvenile Court and $425,410 a year for Orange District Court, according to Joan Kenney, a spokeswoman for the state Supreme Judicial Court. Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown costs the state more – $779,301 a year – but the lease extends out to the end of 2017.

Paul C. Picknelly, president of Monarch Enterprises in Springfield and owner of the building leased for the Westfield court, said he was notified on Tuesday that the state would end its lease. Picknelly said he assumed it was a done deal, and that six months is a typical notice that tenants give landlords.

"I don't feel good about it," he said. "We don't like losing any tenants.''

The Republican file photo by Dave RobackPaul C. Picknelly stands at Tower Square and looks down Boland Way in Springfield in this 1999 photo.

Picknelly said he couldn't rule out converting the Elm Street building into apartments for possible rental to students at Westfield State University, but he said he was not sure that would be the best use. He said it was too early to say how the building would be used if the court is relocated from the building it has occupied since 2002.

Picknelly's brother, Peter A. Picknelly, owns a building at 27 Washington St. in Westfield that is being upgraded into new apartment-style housing aimed at attracting students from the Westfield state campus. That building was once used for Westfield District Court.

Court officials said they are currently unsure of precisely how Westfield District Court's 22 employees will be redeployed to other courts. Communities could be shifted into the jurisdiction of district courts in Chicopee, Holyoke or Great Barrington, court officials said.

Housing Court Chief Judge Steven D. Pierce of Westfield, the co-chair of a seven-member Court Relocation Committee, said the decision to consolidate Westfield District Court had nothing to do with the performance of the court. Pierce, who has lived almost all his life in Westfield, said it came down to economics.

"It's a very expensive lease," Pierce said. "That's a significant amount of money to be saved."

A 1967 graduate of Westfield High School, Pierce said he used to practice as a lawyer in Westfield District Court when it operated in another building.

Pierce, former minority leader in the state House of Representatives from 1987 to 1991, said it "presented a challenge" to help lead a committee that recommended the relocation of a court in his hometown. Pierce said it was his responsibility to look at court consolidations in a broad and objective way irrespective of past associations.

The Republican file photoHousing Court Chief Judge Steven Pierce of Westfield was co-chair of a court relocation committee that recommended relocation of the Westfield District Court.

Pierce conceded that the committee last year recommended the consolidations of 14 courthouses, but Westfield District Court was not mentioned until the bombshell announcement on Tuesday. The committee's public hearing for Western Massachusetts was in Worcester in August.

Contant said the Westfield court is receiving a lot of support from local political, municipal and community leaders. Contant said Trial Court leaders should hold a local public hearing on the planned closure.

Contant said the state should explore alternatives such as purchasing the court's Elm Street building.

In a letter to the governor on Tuesday, Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Roderick L. Ireland and the six other judges on the high court asked the governor to place a moratorium on appointments of judges and clerk magistrates for the rest of this fiscal year in order to save money. They said three support personnel would need to be laid off for every appointment of a judge or clerk magistrate.

Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Murray on Wednesday reaffirmed that the governor will continue to exercise his constitutional authority to appoint judges and clerks. Murray also called on court officials to spell out possible cost savings for closing and relocating a court.

"I think it is owed to the public and those communities that they impact, what the specific dollar savings would be in closing that, and the cost associated with relocating it so we can have a cost-benefit analysis for the people," Murray said.

The top judges said the court closures are necessary after the Trial Court lost $96 million, or almost 16 percent, of its funding in the last three years, including a $24.2 million cut that Gov. Deval L. Patrick signed into law on Monday.

Judge Robert A. Mulligan, the state's chief judge for administration and management, said the court system cannot operate 101 courthouses and accept new judges after losing 1,126 employees, including 250 court officers, mostly through attrition and retirements since July 2007. Mulligan said the state will save in excess of several million dollars by ending leases, but the relocations are primarily driven by a lack of personnel for clerks' offices and to provide security.

"We have such a reduced number of people in our organization that we can no longer maintain all of these courthouses," Mulligan said over the phone.

Chicopee District Court Judge Mary E. Hurley-Marks said "there are no easy answers" to budget problems for the Trial Courts.

"You have to look for ways to cut a huge amount of money," she said. "That comes with pain, discomfort and loss of quality."

Sen. Stephen M. Brewer, D-Barre, the chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said some courthouses have outlived their usefulness. Brewer said he will be looking for "a solid analysis" on why courts should be consolidated.

Brewer said it is too early to say if legislators will craft a plan to attempt to prevent the planned court closures.

"When we said we were going to be making tough choices in this budget, it wasn't political hype," Brewer said. "It was the truth."

The donations are part of a $200,000 commitment PeoplesBank has made for tornado relief.

The Republican | Mark M. MurrayPeoplesBank announced that it is donating $80,000 to help replace trees destroyed by the June 1 tornadoes. Douglas A. Bowen, president and CEO of PeoplesBank, far right, presented a check for $40,000 to the city of Springfield to plant trees like the American Elm at right in public places in neighborhoods hit by the storm. The presentation, attended by, from left, Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, Edward P. Casey, city forester, and Patrick Sullivan, executive director of Parks, Buildings and Recreation Management, was made at the corner of Mary Street and Island Pond Road.

SPRINGFIELD – PeoplesBank announced Thursday that it is donating $80,000 to help replace trees destroyed in five Western Massachusetts communities by the tornado of June 1.

Springfield has received $40,000 of that amount for “re-greening” in three neighborhoods. West Springfield will get $15,000 for replanting in the Union Street area. Wilbraham and Monson will receive $10,000 each, and Westfield will receive $5,000 for trees at the Munger Hill School.

The donations are part of a $200,000 commitment PeoplesBank has made for tornado relief.

According to an estimate by the U.S. Forest Service, 1,340 of the 3,340 “public” trees in the parts of Springfield hit by the tornado were destroyed or had to be removed. When trees in yards or other private places are counted, that number is estimated to be 13,000 trees.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno accepted the check for $40,000 from PeoplesBank President Douglas A. Bowen in a ceremony on Island Pond Road.

Against a backdrop of damaged homes and denuded trees, Bowen commented on the importance of trees, not only to a landscape but to a community.

He also presented the city with a young American Elm, its roots bundled up and ready for planting.

“It’s symbolic of what the city is going through,” said Bowen. He referred to a botanic disaster of the mid-1900s, when a fungal disease almost wiped out the American Elm.

The little elm will probably be planted at Nathan Bill Park, one of 10 parks in Springfield affected by the tornado, said Patrick J. Sullivan, director of Parks, Buildings and Recreation Management in Springfield.

Edward Casey, city forester, predicted that the little tree would be 25 feet tall in five years. He said the $40,000 would be used to purchase at least 100 mature trees for planting.

Casey said Springfield will work with an arborist strike team from the U.S. Forestry Department, which will bring “a lot of good skills and experience” to the process.

The city will develop a master plan by September, and will begin replanting trees in October.

Among the Springfield streets that can expect trees are Island Pond and Plumtree roads, Walnut and Central streets and South Branch Parkway.

Bowen said PeoplesBank has been “a leader in green financing,” and has donated to hydro, solar and wind power research. Two of its 16 banks, one in Springfield and one in West Springfield, are LEED-certified, meaning that the U.S. Green Building Council has certified them in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

The Republican | Mark M. MurrayPeoplesBank announced that it is donating $80,000 to help replace trees destroyed by the June 1 tornadoes. Douglas A. Bowen, president and CEO of PeoplesBank, far right, presented a check for $40,000 to the city of Springfield to plant trees like the American Elm at right in public places in neighborhoods hit by the storm. The presentation, attended by, from left, Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, Edward P. Casey, city forester, and Patrick Sullivan, executive director of Parks, Buildings and Recreation Management, was made at the corner of Mary Street and Island Pond Road.

Under a proposal by OPAL Real Estate Group, led by businessman Peter Picknelly, the building would be developed for retail, office/institutional space and market rate apartments.

File photo | The RepublicanUnder a proposal by OPAL Real Estate Group, 13-31 Elm St. in Springfield, would be developed for retail, office/institutional space and market rate apartments.

SPRINGFIELD – A development group led by local businessman Peter A. Picknelly is in line to develop a long-vacant office building on Elm Street at Court Square into a multi-million dollar project with a mix of retail, office and residential uses.

The Springfield Redevelopment Authority, which owns the six-story office building at 13-31 Elm St., built in 1892, and four connected properties, voted unanimously on Wednesday to designate OPAL Real Estate Group, of Springfield, as the preferred developer of the properties.

“For the benefit of Springfield, that building cannot be left vacant,” Picknelly said Thursday. “It simply can’t. Springfield is our home, our city, and it (the site) has to be developed.”

The preferred developer designation is for 120 days and if successful would culminate with the sale of the property to the developer.

Armando Feliciano, chairman of the redevelopment authority, said he is excited by the project and believes it is “long overdue” for Court Square, located in the heart of downtown Springfield.

“I am going to consider you guys the magic wand,” Feliciano said to representatives of OPAL.

Picknelly is president of OPAL and Peter Pan Bus Lines. The OPAL team also includes Demetrios N. Panteleakis, managing partner; Robert J. Schwarz, executive vice-president; and Mark Healy, vice president of brokerage.

OPAL is also developing a market-rate housing project at the former Westfield State University training school on Washington Street in Westfield.

Past development proposals for the Elm Street property at Court Square have failed to materialize, ranging from a boutique hotel to mixed uses.

Connolly & Partners of Boston was named preferred developer in June 2008 among seven proposals received. The company, however, lost some of its investor backing during the recession and its preferred status was not renewed in September 2009, officials said.

The Springfield Redevelopment Authority returned to the other six proposals last year, choosing OPAL among firms still interested in the development, officials said.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said he is excited by the new proposed development. As indicated in a study by the Urban Land Institute, developing 13-31 Elm Street is “the linchpin” for revitalization of the downtown, Sarno said.

The building is the former Court Square Hotel, and has been proposed for various uses over the years.

Under OPAL’s proposal, the first floor would be developed for retail use, and the next four floors would be for office/institutional space, officials said. The top floor would be converted to market rate apartments.

“We think it’s the best use for that site,” Picknelly said. “It’s a great building, great bones, great structure, great history.”

City officials said there are significant challenges, including a need for parking that will be addressed during the 120-day period. The five connected properties do include two lots for parking and the former Saia law office building that was demolished.

A cost estimate for the project has not yet been determined. The properties are part of a national historic district in the National Register of Historic Places, and the developers anticipate pursuing new market tax credits and historic tax credits, officials said.

The sale would be for a nominal fee, according to city officials.

Picknelly’s brother, Paul C. Picknelly, had proposed an $18 million project at 13-31 Elm Street several years ago, but the project did not move forward due to factors including back taxes and interest inherited from a prior owner. As owned now by the Springfield Redevelopment Authority, there are no longer back taxes owed.

The site is located across Main Street from the MassMutual Center and across Elm Street from City Hall.

Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens remain perfectly bookended, each with seven major awards, one mistrial and no guilty verdict assured of sticking.

FILE - ** At left, in a Jan. 21, 2011 file photo, former major league baseball player Barry Bonds walks out of a federal courthouse in San Francisco. At right, in an Aug. 30, 2010 file photo, seven-time Cy Young winner baseball pitcher Roger Clemens leaves federal court in Washington. Bonds and Clemens, each have seven major awards and also each have one mistrial. (AP Photo/File)

By RONALD BLUM, AP Sports Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Seems you can't put a baseball star on trial without a mistrial.

Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens remain perfectly bookended, each with seven major awards, one mistrial and no guilty verdict assured of sticking.

Victor Conte, whose Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative sparked the government investigations of drugs and athletes, has had enough.

"It's a huge waste of federal taxpayer dollars at this point," he said Thursday during a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "I don't know the tab, but probably tens of millions of dollars at this point."

Three months and a day after Bonds walked out of a San Francisco court room following a three-week trial and a muddled verdict that could result in a retrial, Clemens hustled out of a Washington, D.C., court room when a judge ruled federal prosecutors botched their case on Day 2, saying they made a mistake unworthy of a "first-year law student."

As baseball's gray eminence, Yogi Berra, would say, "it's like deja vu all over again."

When facing off against baseball players and their best-in-the-business legal teams, the Justice Department has struggled.

Former Major League baseball pitcher Roger Clemens autographs a baseball as he leaves federal court in Washington, Thursday, July 14, 2011, after the judge declared a mistrial in his perjury trial after prosecutors showed jurors evidence that the judge had ruled out of bounds. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Conte, the BALCO president, was sentenced to four months in prison and four months' home confinement after pleading guilty in 2005 to one count of steroid distribution and one count of money laundering. Bonds was a BALCO client, its most famous.

Conte has two points to make on Clemens.

"Let me just say it's my opinion and only my opinion that Roger Clemens is guilty," he offered.

But that doesn't mean he thinks it should be a criminal matter.

"I believe that there are higher and better tasks than these trophy hunts of trying to take these big-name athletes and make examples of them," Conte said. "Regardless of whether or not I think he's guilty or not, we've reached a point where enough is enough and it's time to move on. Back in 2003 or when they brought the case against myself and Barry Bonds, that was a different economic climate than it is today, post 2008."

When IRS Special Agent Jeff Novitzky, surfing through BALCO's trash in 2002 or 2003, found a photograph of Conte and Bonds together in the magazine Muscle & Fitness, it sparked a legal pursuit that's still ongoing.

Like a Rube Goldberg machine, one led to another. The BALCO investigation led to the book "Game of Shadows." A week after the book was published in March 2006, baseball Commissioner Bud Selig hired former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell to investigate steroids.

Mitchell published his report in December 2007, implicating Clemens based on statements from the pitcher's former trainer, Brian McNamee, who was forced to cooperate by federal agents after he was tied to steroids by former Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski. Clemens' denials over the following week prompted a congressional committee to ask the pitcher and McNamee to testify, leading to a February hearing where Clemens repeated that he had never used performance-enhancing drugs. The was followed by a referral to the Justice Department, a grand jury investigation and an indictment last August.

The federal government charged the seven-time Cy Young Award winner with one count of obstruction of Congress, three counts of making false statements to Congress and two counts of perjury. Now, the government faces a Sept. 2 hearing when it likely will try to persuade U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton to allow a retrial.

Across the country, a different set of prosecutors face an Aug. 26 hearing when Bonds' lawyers will argue that U.S. District Judge Susan Illston should throw out the one conviction against the seven-time Most Valuable Player — that he obstructed justice when he gave an evasive answer to a grand jury in December 2003.

Bonds' prosecutors haven't decided whether to retry the three hung counts. The jury couldn't come to a unanimous verdict on charges he made false statements when he denied using steroids and human growth hormone and said he allowed only doctors to inject him. But it convicted him of giving an evasive statement when asked whether his trainer, Greg Anderson, ever gave him "anything that required a syringe to inject yourself with?"

Bonds' rambling reply stated that "I became a celebrity child with a famous father." His lawyers argue that he can't be convicted of that, partly because moments later he was asked "Did either Mr. Anderson or Mr. Conte ever give you a liquid that they told you to inject into yourself" and Bonds responded with a simple: "No."

Just before closing arguments, one of Bonds' lawyers, Dennis Riordan, addressed the possibility of a conviction on the allegedly evasive statements contained in the jury instructions, saying it "would be utterly a farce."

In the view of Conte, prosecutions of baseball stars has become pointless.

"I just think it's time for those that make these types of decisions to make a higher and better use of federal taxpayer dollars," he said.

Walton also had the economics on his mind.

"We've expended a lot of your taxpayer's money to reach this point," he told the jurors before sending them home.

Derek Jeter, like many, is tired of the wrangling with no end.

"I'm no legal expert but you want it to be behind him," he said. "Obviously, the more attention that's paid to that, it's just negative for the game in general."

Here are the average energy prices in the Pioneer Valley for the week ending today.

View full size

The woman was shot several times, including in the neck, during a failed robbery attempt, police say.

Cecil Grant, 19, of Hartford is facing a slew of felonies for his alleged part in the failed armed robbery of a woman delivering pizza back in May.

HARTFORD, Conn. - Only two weeks into its recent reinstatement by Hartford Mayor Pedro E. Segarra, the Hartford Shooting Task Force closed the May 1 case involving the shooting of a woman delivering pizza with the arrest of the two men allegedly responsible for the attack.

Cecil Grant of 27 Orange St., and Derrick Newkirk of 55 Elmer St, both 19-year-old Hartford residents, are facing several felony charges for an incident that almost took the life of a delivery driver.

According to a report in the Hartford Courant, Grant and Newkirk attempted to rob the woman on May 1 when she was making a delivery to a house on the 500 block of Mary Shephard Place.

The victim told reporters that the men asked her to break a $100 bill and when she said she couldn't, Grant pushed a handgun against the window and said he would just take her car instead.

As the woman attempted to drive off, Grant allegedly started shooting from the rear of the car, shattering the delivery driver's rear window.

Because the housing project is situated on a dead end street, the delivery driver had to turn around and drive past the assailants to get out.

Derrick Newkirk, described by police as Grant's accomplice in the attempted robbery and shooting, is also facing felony charges for his alleged part in the attack.

"She reclined her seat all way down and, without being able to see where she was going, kept driving," the report states.

The woman apparently then drove herself two and a half miles to St. Francis Hospital.

"Although the victim suffered serious, life-threatening injuries, she is recovering," Hartford police said. "The Hartford Shooting Task Force had been diligently investigating the case since it began work on July 5. On July 13, detectives had secured sufficient evidence to obtain an arrest warrant for Grant and Newkirk in connection with the shooting."

Grant, who police say was in custody on unrelated charges, is charged with criminal attempt to commit murder, first-degree assault, conspiracy and criminal attempt first degree robbery, according to police. He was held in lieu of $500,000 bond.

Newkirk, who is described by police as Grant's accomplice, is charged with first-degree criminal attempt to commit robbery, accessory to first-degree assault, and conspiracy. He was held in lieu of $400,000 bond pending arraignment in Hartford Superior Court.

Segarra praised the work of the task force saying he "could not be more pleased with the results of their efforts."

Earlier this week, the shooting team arrested two other men who were reportedly wanted for questioning in connection with a series of shootings around Hartford.

The Hartford Shooting Team is a partnership between the Hartford Police Department, Office of the Hartford State's Attorney, Office of the Chief State's Attorney, the Connecticut State Police, the Department of Corrections, and the East Hartford, West Hartford and Manchester police departments. It is charged with investigating gun violence and bring those responsible for such violence to prosecution.

A briefcase that was left in the parking lot of Rocky's Ace Hardware in the plaza at routes 57 and 159 in Agawam on Thursday was empty.

(The Republican | Greg Saulmon)07.14.2011 | AGAWAM - A briefcase left in the Rocky's Ace Hardware plaza Thursday afternoon prompted a response from the Springfield Arson and Bomb Squad and an evacuation of the store.

This updates a story posted on Thursday at 2:35 p.m.

AGAWAM - A seemingly suspicious briefcase that was left in the parking lot of Rocky's Ace Hardware in the plaza at routes 57 and 159 in Agawam on Thursday was empty, police said Friday morning.

The conclusion came hours after the briefcase was found in the parking lot, prompting the partial evacuation of the plaza and a heavy response from local police departments and the Springfield Arson & Bomb Squad.

"We erred on the side of caution but it turned out to be a whole lot of nothing inside," an Agawam police dispatcher said.

The gray briefcase was found in the middle of the parking lot around 2:30 p.m. Thursday.

Brooks was editor of News of the World between 2000 and 2003, the time of the most explosive allegation to hit Murdoch's News Corp. media empire, and she has been in charge of News International's four British newspapers since 2007.

Chairman of News Corporation Rupert Murdoch, left, and Chief executive of News International Rebekah Brooks as they leave his residence in central London, Sunday, July 10, 2011. Britain's tabloid newspaper News of the World ceased publication with today's issue. News of the World is accused of hacking into the mobile phones of various crime victims, celebrities and politicians. (AP Photo/Ian Nicholson) UNITED KINGDOM OUT - NO SALES - NO ARCHIVES

LONDON (AP) — Rebekah Brooks, the loyal lieutenant of Rupert Murdoch, resigned Friday as chief executive of his embattled British newspapers, becoming the biggest casualty so far in the phone hacking scandal at a Sunday tabloid.

Murdoch had vigorously defended Brooks in the face of demands from politicians that she step down, and had previously refused to accept her resignation.

Brooks was editor of News of the World between 2000 and 2003, the time of the most explosive allegation to hit Murdoch's News Corp. media empire, and she has been in charge of News International's four British newspapers since 2007.

"I have believed that the right and responsible action has been to lead us through the heat of the crisis. However my desire to remain on the bridge has made me a focal point of the debate," Brooks said in an email to colleagues, which was released by News International. "This is now detracting attention from all our honest endeavors to fix the problems of the past."

Tom Mockridge, currently chief executive of News Corp.'s Sky Italia television unit, was appointed to succeed Brooks.

FILE- SKY Italia CEO Tom Mockridge meets the media on the occasion of the presentation of SKY Italia TV sports programs, in Milan, Italy, in this file photo dated, Thursday,Aug. 23, 2007. Rebekah Brooks has resigned Friday, July 15, 2011, as chief executive of Rupert Murdoch's embattled British newspapers. Tom Mockridge, currently chief executive of News Corp.'s Sky Italia television unit, was appointed to succeed Brooks. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, file)

Brooks agreed Thursday to answer questions next week from a U.K. parliamentary committee investigating the phone hacking and police bribery scandal that is consuming British media and politics. The news came just a day after Murdoch and his son James first refused, then agreed to appear before the lawmakers, after the committee raised the stakes by issuing formal summonses to them.

In the U.S., meanwhile, the FBI opened a review into allegations the Murdoch media empire sought to hack into the phones of Sept. 11 victims in its quest for sensational scoops.

Those developments — and the arrest of another former editor of a Murdoch tabloid — deepened the crisis for News Corp., which has seen its stock price sink as investors ask whether the scandal could drag down the whole company.

Murdoch defended News Corp.'s handling of the scandal, saying it will recover from any damage caused by the phone-hacking and police bribery allegations. The 80-year-old told The Wall Street Journal — which is owned by News Corp. — that he is "just getting annoyed" at all the recent negative press.

He also dismissed reports he would sell his U.K. newspapers to stem the scandal, calling the suggestion "pure and total rubbish."

On Friday, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder confirmed the early stages of an inquiry into allegations that employees of News Corp. tried to hack into the telephones of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States.

"There have been members of Congress in the United States who have asked us to investigate those same allegations and we are progressing in that regard using the appropriate criminal law enforcement agencies in the United States," Holder told reporters in Australia while attending a meeting of the Attorneys-General of the U.S., United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

The allegation that Murdoch papers may have targeted 9/11 victims came from the rival Daily Mirror, which quoted an anonymous source as saying an unidentified American investigator had rejected approaches from unidentified journalists who showed a particular interest in British victims of the terror attacks. It cited no evidence that any phone had actually been hacked.

There was no indication members of Congress had information beyond the Mirror report.

The Route 5 improvement project is ahead of schedule and within budget, according to a Massachusetts transportation official.

File photo | The Republican

WEST SPRINGFIELD – Although original plans did not call for the $3.6 million Route 5 improvement project to be completed until spring, most of it will be done by the end of this calendar year, according to an official with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, which is overseeing and funding the work.

Albert R. Stegemann, director of its District 2 office in Northampton, said Tuesday, “It is pretty much win-win right now.”

The project is also within budget, he said.

Stegemann made his comment from the parking lot of Table & Vine on Route 5, which is also known as Riverdale Street, during a tour-progress report of the work with state Sen. James R. Welch, D-West Springfield, and state Rep. Michael J. Finn, D-West Springfield.

Welch and Finn agreed the project has gone smoothly, something that Stegemann attributes to the fact that construction takes place from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m., when the highway is cut from four lanes to two.

Northeast Construction of Ludlow is doing the project, which calls for replacing the aging, 1930s-era cement surface of Route 5 with asphalt, building sidewalks and improving traffic signals. Sidewalks currently are very limited.

Work is taking place on .67-acres of the highway from Monterey Drive near the Rave cinema complex and the Riverdale Shops to just north of the Interstate 91 bypass. The purpose of the project is to relieve traffic congestion and improve pedestrian safety.

“This is an area that gets an awful lot of traffic and needed signal improvements,” Welch said.

Eighty percent of the money for the work is coming from the Federal Highway Administration and the rest from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

“I think it is great for the town,” Finn said, adding that it is a bonus that the state is paying for the project.

Libraries will get the money only if they raise the remaining amount they need to complete their proposed buildings by January 2012.

An artist's rendering of the proposed new South Hadley Library.

The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners announced Thursday that four public libraries in Western Massachusetts have received multi-million-dollar provisional grants from the Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program.

“Provisional” means that the libraries will get the money only if they manage to raise the remaining amount they need to complete their proposed buildings by January 31, 2012. The average grant is for 50 percent of the total cost of each library building.

Granby Free Public Library was awarded $2,603,663. The M. N. Spear Memorial Library in Shutesbury was awarded $2,093,084. The South Hadley Public Library was awarded $4,841,312. West Springfield Public Library was awarded $6,276,143.

In spite of the provisional nature of the awards, supporters and staff were almost giddy with joy when the announcements were made.

“It was our dream to have a 21st-century library for Granby,” said Virginia Snopek, chair of the Library Trustees in Granby. “Our community has really banded together.”

“We are over the moon, absolutely ecstatic over the news,” said Toni Golinski-Foisy, director of the West Springfield library.

The Elm Street entrance to the West Springfield Library.

“It’s been a long journey, and everyone worked so hard,” said Golinksi-Foisy, whose proposed library has a total cost of $13,441,200.

“I had to sit down and take off my glasses,” said Mary Anne Antonelli, director of the Spear Library in Shutesbury, who got the news by phone from an architect working on the project.

“We’re thrilled and we’re very proud,” she said. “For a tiny little town like Shutesbury, this is a huge project and a huge opportunity.”

Antonelli said the town has 1,800 residents and 1,200 of them are registered library patrons. The library was built in 1902 for 400 residents.

“It’s a great day for South Hadley,” said Joseph Rodio, director of the South Hadley library. He seemed the calmest of the lot, but insisted that was just on the outside.

Rodio and the chair of the Library Trustees in South Hadley, Mitch Resnick, were so excited about the impending announcement that they drove to Northborough Thursday morning to get the news first-hand from the Board of Library Commissioners.

So many other applicants had the same idea that the commissioners moved the announcement up on the agenda.

Eight Massachusetts public libraries were awarded provisional grants, and 15 are on a waiting list.

Rodio, whose grant represents 51 percent of his proposed library’s total cost, said it’s significant that of the eight winners, half are in Western Massachusetts.

“I think that speaks to a need from this part of the state,” he said. “With this grant round, the state is recognizing that.”

An artist's rendering of the proposed new library in Granby.

Some communities have already been fund-raising like crazy.

“We’ll try to deflect as much of the town’s cost as we can,” said Jennifer Grant, director of the Granby library, whose proposed library is budgeted at $4,775,000.

All of the winning libraries expressed plans to get LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, which could make them eligible for other grants.

There are different levels of LEED certification, said Golinski-Foisy.

“If we hit the marks we think we are going to hit, we could add another $300,000-to-$400,000 in grants,” she said.

Margarita Colon, 45, of 140 Essex St. and Orlando Gonzalez, 39, of 55 Shawmut Ave. are both facing drug-related charges after detectives with the city's drug enforcement unit executed a search warrant at an Essex Street apartment.

Republican file photo

HOLYOKE - Two Holyoke residents were taken into custody on Thursday following a two-month investigation into crack sales in the paper city.

Margarita Colon, 45, of 140 Essex St. and Orlando Gonzalez, 39, of 55 Shawmut Ave. are both facing drug-related charges after detectives with the city's drug enforcement unit executed a search warrant at the Essex Street apartment.

According to Sgt. Larry Cournoyer of the Holyoke Police Department, detectives arrived at the apartment around 8:30 p.m. with a warrant in hand. They entered and cleared the house for safety then began a search in accordance with the warrant.

"They found 59 corner-ties of crack-cocaine, prescription pills in unmarked bottles, U.S. currency and packaging materials," Cournoyer said. "It was an extensive investigation that took place over a two-month period."

Cournoyer said that the prescription pills confiscated included the anti-anxiety drugs Xanax and Ativan (Lorazepam) and the painkiller Percocet, which contains oxycodone and acetaminophen.

Colon was charged with trafficking cocaine, conspiracy to violate the drug law, possession of a class-e substance with the intent to distribute and violating the drug law within 1,000 feet of a school or a park due to the apartment's proximity to Holyoke Library Park. She was held in lieu of $50,000 bail awaiting arraignment Friday morning.

Gonzalez was charged with conspiracy to violate the drug law and picked up on three active warrants for shoplifting, possession of heroin and unlicensed operation, according to Cournoyer.

View Larger Map

US drone attack kills 50 in Yemen;Google+ grows to exceed 10 million users; and more of the morning's headlines

People gather at the townhall square to sing the 'Pobre de Mi', or Poor of me, song that marks the end of the San Fermin fiestas in Pamplona, northern Spain, early Friday, July 15, 2011. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)

• U.S. Drone reportedly kills 50 people in Yemen [CNN.com]


• Atkins Farms considers second location in Amherst [GazetteNet.com]


• With 10M users, Google+ is becoming a social competitor [ComputerWorld.com]


• Connecticut attorney general investigates Groupon [Courant.com]


• Oregon State researchers document the importance of predators to the ecosystem [OregonPublicBroadcasting.org]


• Harry Potter fans mob Boston theater as last movie screens at midnight [Boston.com]


GOP Presidential candidate Michelle Bachmann's husband defends religious-based counseling clinic, comments about gay people



• Twitter posts tagged #westernma in Western Mass. [MassLive.com]


• Read more News Links »


• Do you have News Links? Send them our way or tweet them to @masslivenews

NOTE: Users of modern browsers can open each link in a new tab by holding 'control' ('command' on a Mac) and clicking each link.

More area bike paths and connections are planned, aimed at eventually creating a system that runs to Yale University.

The Republican | John SuchockiThe Manhan Rail Trail construction at South Street in Easthampton will continue the trail to Coleman Road in Southampton.

EASTHAMPTON – Officials from the city and its many neighboring communities envision a future in which one can walk or bike on a trail from Northampton all the way to New Haven, Conn.

As work on the Manhan Rail Trail continues, that dream is slowly but surely coming true.

A three-quarter-mile extension of the Manhan is underway and could be completed this year, linking South Street in Easthampton and Coleman Road in Southampton, where the trail would end. More area bike paths and connections are planned, aimed at eventually creating a system that runs to Yale University.

Southampton is looking at public reaction, funding and land acquisition options for a trail of its own that might meet up with the Manhan, said Town Administrator Diana Schindler. She said people are now more supportive of a trail than they were when it was first proposed in the 1990s.

If Westfield links with that trail, the system could connect to the New Haven-Northampton Canal, a former railroad that is being converted into a rail trail. Once that conversion is complete, and if Southampton’s plans come to fruition, Easthampton residents and their neighbors can bike, largely uninterrupted, almost to the Atlantic Ocean.

Bike trail advocate and author Craig P. Della Penna of Northampton said that could take about four years.

“It opens up all sorts of possibilities, not only for the trail but for commercialization,” said Easthampton mayor Michael A. Tautznik. “For many people, these serve as genuine transportation corridors.”

Crews have cleared the Manhan extension site, removing trees, soil and railroad ties. A sewer line is set to be installed under the trail, which will cost the city about $130,000, said Tautznik.

Ludlow Construction Co., Inc., began the work this summer with $725,210 in Massachusetts Department of Transportation funding. MassDOT’s original estimate was $1.18 million.

City planner Stuart Beckley said “the contractor is optimistic it will be done in the fall” although the contract calls for completion in the spring.

“I think the work is going at a good rate and they haven’t run into very much unforeseen,” said Tautznik.

Work on the extension was slated to start in 2002, but a 1,000-foot stretch was contaminated with asbestos from a former Zonolite attic insulation plant on Wemelco Way. A bankruptcy court ordered the plant’s former owner, W.R. Grace & Co., to pay for the clean-up, which was done last fall.

Beckley said a bridge will span the Manhan River off Lovefield Street, further connecting the city to Northampton’s Norwottuck Rail Trail. That $830,000 project is also underway and is funded by federal and state highway money.

The Norwottuck is part of the Mass Central Rail Trail that will cover 104 miles to Boston within 10 years, said Della Penna. The Norwottuck also links Hadley and Amherst, and branches into Belchertown and Williamsburg.

One quirky feature that will remain is that the church, as Pastor Stephen Philbrick describes it, was built backwards.

John SuchockiCummington Fire Chief Bernie Forgea and Pastor Stephen Philbrick talk about the fire last year that destroyed the West Cummington Congregational Church.

CUMMINGTON – A new West Cummington Congregational Church is about to rise from the ashes of the old one, and if the two look similar no one is about to complain.

Church members, many of whom are self-styled “eccentrics,” will celebrate the groundbreaking on Saturday the way they worship— with “spirited words” and song. The start of the rebuilding comes 18 months after the 1839 church that had been the congregation’s home burned to the ground in January of 2010.

The West Cummington Congregational Church is known for drawing non-conformists to it like moths to a candle. Sunday readings are as likely to come from the “Tao Te Ching” as from the Bible and traditional hymns are eschewed for hipper fare such as church member and renowned musician Marissa Nield singing one of her own songs.

The flock, which gathers from as far away as Hinsdale and Northampton, has been using the parish house as a meeting place since the fire, but hopes to move into its new digs soon. Deborah Balmuth, a church deacon, said the congregation has already raised $720,000 towards its $800,000 goal, thanks in part to efforts by far-flung sympathizers such as a church in Buckland and a Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Dalton.

“There’s been an amazing outpouring from the community,” she said.

The congregation loved almost everything about the little church that burned down, from its white clapboard to the big clear windows that filled the place with light. Church members filled out a questionnaire asking what they would like to see in the new building.

“We got everybody to write and write and write about the church, said Pastor Stephen Philbrick. “What they liked and what they didn’t like.”

Not surprisingly, they wanted many of the details that made the old church special.

“It helped us come up with a guiding blueprint for the design,” said Balmuth. “People really wanted the building to reflect the look and feel of the old building.”

One quirky feature that will remain is that the church, as Philbrick describes it, was built backwards.

“You’re looking at the faces of the congregation when you walk in the front door, instead of at the backs of their heads,” he said.

While this made it impossible for late-comers to sneak in, Philbrick said, their arrival was met with chuckles, not scorn. Bruce Woods, an architect who lives in West Cummington but works mainly in Boston, offered his services for free. He was careful to keep the big, clear windows that filled the old church with light.

“People said it made the colors warm, although the church was unadorned,” said Philbrick.

Other features that will remain are the while clapboards and the bell tower. The new church will even be oriented the same as the old one. There will be no icons inside, a nod to the atmosphere that welcomed a wide range of philosophical, theological and artistic expression. Although the fire destroyed almost all of the old building, Philbrick said parishioners worked to scrape the charred wood off the large church beams. The usable wood was then milled and will be used to make doors in the new building.

There will be one new and much welcome detail in the new building, however. Unlike the old church, it will have bathrooms.

“It will be a welcome touch of modernity,” said Balmuth.

Philbrick and the congregation have their sights set on Easter 2012, for the church’s grand reopening.